Progressive Action Party

The Progressive Action Party (PAP) was a liberal-conservative political party in Cuba which existed from 1949 to 1959. The party was founded by Fulgencio Batista, who seized the presidency in a 1952 coup. In 1954 and 1958, using electoral fraud (including the early withdrawal of opponents), Batista and his PAP party were easily re-elected, and the party supported moderate conservatism and economic liberalism to attract American capital. This led to corruption and poverty plaguing the country, and the party's anti-communism aligned it towards the USA and against Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement, which was created in response to Batista's abuses of power and his impoverishing of the country. In 1959, Castro seized power from Batista in the Cuban Revolution, and Batista was forced to flee into exile as the 26th of July Movement took power; later, Castro founded the Communist Party of Cuba, which became the dominant party in the country.